I sit by the restless all the dark night - some are so young;
Some suffer so much - I recall the experience sweet and sad,...

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Locations of Jensen Falls

So, I introduced the characters already. And I talked briefly about locations in my 'taking a walk' post. So I feel like the places should get some attention. Because places are cool.

Jensen Falls:

Thought I'd clarify, Jensen Falls is in fact that town that the series takes place in. I have no set place for it, but I usually think it's somewhere in the midwest. It's not very big, but I think it's big enough to avoid the 'small town' label. Barely. My main inspiration, aside from the parkway by my house, is this passage from The Halloween Tree. Which is a brilliant book, by the way. I have a signed version. It's one of my treasured posessions.

"It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a small northern part of a Midwest state. There wasn't so much wilderness around you couldn't see the town. But on the other hand there wasn't so much town you couldn't see and feel and touch and smell the wilderness. The town was full of trees. And dry grass and dead flowers now that autumn was here. And full of fences to walk on and sidewalks to skate on and a large ravine to tumble in and yell across."

Isn't that just the coolest description ever? And it's what I think of every time I think of Jensen Falls. It's sort of a beautiful, magical, normal place. And while there are in fact main characters and stuff, I sometimes think the series is truly about this wonderful place, and people's actions to protect it.

The forest:
There is a forest on the outskirts of JF, and it's most distinctive feature is that it serves as one of borders. Go more than a mile or two into it, and you're into a different town. It's... well, it's a forest.

JFHS:
Most of my characters are high school age, so obviously this is an important spot. The school is loosely based on the place David and Bryan went to. Apparently. I've only seen pictures, but I got some serious inspiration off of those photos. It's got some really cool architecture. And a clock tower. I wish my high school had a clock tower.

Jonah's House:
An average, middle class house. In my head it's blue. But if we actually get around to filming this, I will totally not be picky. This is where a lot of stuff happens, because Jonah's room is the headquarters for his investigation agency. His room is absolutely full of movie posters and dorky figurines. It's what I want my room to look like. Instead I've got a poster of a mushroom cloud.

That's not mine, just so you know.

Rachel's House:
Well, technically it's her aunt's house. But Rachel lives there. And it's a fricken huge mansiony type place. Not quite as importan as Jonah's place because she spends more time at his house than the other way around. Well, that and she won't let Cole in.

The Bench:
Yes, a bench is an important location. It's because Cole is a mysterious asshole and Jonah has no idea where he lives. So if he wants to meet the guy, he hangs around this bench in a park until he shows up. How Cole knows he's there I've no clue. Maybe he's a creepy stalker vampire boy. Wouldn't be the first time.

Dead Man's Party:
It's a club. For supernatural people! The DJ's a ghost. It's a cool little hangout for people who usually have to hide themselves to fit into society. And yes, it's named after an Oingo Boingo song. Oingo Boingo fricken rules.

The Old Peyton House:
Every town needs a haunted house, right? Jensen Falls is no exception. The story behind this is that Mr. Peyton was murdered and stuffed into the walls Edgar Alan Poe style. And that you can hear him trying to get out sometimes. Creepy, huh?